GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Researchers at a University of Michigan lab have developed a “first-of-its-kind” blood test to detect head and neck cancers caused by human papillomavirus.
The test is called MyHPVscore. It works by identifying fragments of tumor DNA within a patient’s bloodstream.
The researchers believe noninvasive diagnostic tools like MyHPVscore can have a major impact for cancer patients. Dr. Keith Casper, a clinical associate professor for otolaryngology head and neck surgery, called the new tool “incredibly exciting.”
“This test has the ability to detect recurrent disease before patients have any signs or symptoms of recurrence. It also can detect recurrence prior to any imaging findings,” Casper said in a university blog post. “This opens the possibility of being able to detect recurrence at its earliest stage, which should enable us to intervene earlier.”
Testing capacity is limited for now, but the lab expects to ramp up numbers over the coming year.
According to U-M, about 48,000 Americans are diagnosed with HPV-related head and neck cancers each year and those numbers are expected to rise.
“Most young adults have not received the HPV vaccine, with a particularly low rate for men, even though it is now approved for adults up to the age of 45,” the university wrote in a blog post.
The University of Michigan launched its Otolaryngology and Translational Oncology Lab in 2022. J. Chad Brenner, who leads the lab, says the new test is the result of the university’s commitment to advancing medicine and identifying weaknesses within the medical field’s path of innovation.
“There are almost no otolaryngology departments nationally that have such a lab,” Brenner said. “We needed to create this lab because patients needed results.”
